When I originally found Mind the Maker’s fabrics it was love at first sight, and that was even before I knew how soft and, importantly, sustainable they are. I bought this polka dot navy and pink one from The Village Haberdashery. It’s pricier than I would normally spent for a viscose but the quality is great. I only needed 2 metres for this hack.

I decided to do my fabric saving hack of pairing a darted bodice with the Nina Lee London Kew skirt, which I adapted to have a back zip instead of buttoned front. I’ve spoken about this a few times in other blogs but in short I basically fold over the button placket and cut the front skirt piece on the fold with a 1cm overhang. I also measure between the mid point of each dart with the skirt and waist to make sure they will match up, and I check it again when I’m ready to attach the bodice to the skirt so I can make adjustments if needed.

The sleeves are the Deer and Doe Magnolia sleeves from version b. I haven’t used them before but I love them with the high neck bodice especially since it will work really well for most seasons.


The sewing was simple and fairly quick. The fabric itself has a bit of stretch to it, but not so much that it drags through the machine, just a nice amount that it fits really comfortably. I’ve worn and washed this a couple of times now and I’m impressed by the quality. One piece of advice I’d give if you’re sewing with this fabric is to use a new sharp needle because it did catch a couple of times and reveal a little white line in the fabric. I think this is probably because of the stretch in it. That’s not going to stop me from buying every colour though!

